The Indian Ocean Raid: Colombo

February 12, 2017 PE Matt 0

On March 26th, 1942, the Japanese Kido Butai departed from its anchorage at Staring Bay and set course for the Indian Ocean. Five of the six carriers under the command of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo were […]

The Lae-Salamaua Raid

January 28, 2017 PE Matt 0

After the attempted raid on Rabaul by Task Force 11 was turned back when the Lexington was spotted by Japanese patrol aircraft, Admiral Wilson Brown retired and considered his next move. He radioed Admiral Nimitz […]

Operation K

January 20, 2017 PE Matt 1

The Japanese, keen to press back against the Americans in the Central Pacific as well as keeping up-to-date with developments at Pearl Harbor, planned an audacious mission to conduct a combined bombing/reconnaissance attack on the […]

The Wake-Marcus Raids

January 13, 2017 PE Matt 0

The US Navy’s carrier fleet in the Pacific continued to flex its muscles even after the abandoned attempt to attack Rabaul on February 20th. Admiral King in Washington and Nimitz in Hawaii were keen to […]

In Defence of the Lexington

January 6, 2017 PE Matt 0

The relatively easy capture of Rabaul in 1942 gave the Japanese a useful base of operations to support offensive moves in the South Pacific. Plans were prepared for landings on the northern coast of New […]

The Evacuation of Rangoon

December 30, 2016 PE Matt 0

During their advance southwards, the Japanese had undertaken a limited air offensive against the British colony of Burma, aimed at neutralising the small RAF force based in and around the capital of Rangoon. After inflicting […]

The Fall and Surrender of Java

December 23, 2016 PE Matt 0

What has become known as the Japanese ‘Centrifugal Offensive’ had delivered the Empire’s troops to the shores of Java, which was the ultimate objective of the entire strategy. Major facilities in the Philippines and at […]

The Pincer Grip on Java

December 9, 2016 PE Matt 2

With Sumatra having fallen, British squadrons regrouped in western Java. The collection of fighter squadrons that had seen action in Malaya and Sumatra were re-organised – most were disbanded, and all remaining pilots and aircraft […]

Target Java

November 18, 2016 PE Matt 0

By the beginning of February 1942 the position of Java, the most important island in the Netherlands East Indies, was looking extremely precarious. Borneo and Celebes were already in Japanese hands, and Singapore and Sumatra […]

The Bombing of Darwin

October 22, 2016 PE Matt 0

The port town of Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, had become the main staging base for ships and aircraft heading towards Java. Darwin’s airfields had played host to many units and replacement aircraft bound for Java and the Philippines, along what was an increasingly tenuous […]

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